9 White Lies You Need to Stop Telling Your Docs

If you're not telling the whole truth (and nothing but the truth), you could be harming your health

The lie: "I'm just here for a checkup." Also heard: "Everything's fine. Nothing new."

Why you should 'fess up:You made this appointment for a reason, and expecting your doctor to be a mind-reader wastes time and increases your chances of your problem getting worse (or, at least, not better). Doctors have heard it all -- if you're there because you're depressed, exhausted, have no sex drive, can't sleep, etc. -- welcome to the club. According to Smith, the most common issues people are shy about discussing are loss of sexual libido, fatigue, anger, depression, anxiety, and fears they may have something like cancer or heart disease.

"People will say they don't have a specific concern and just want a check-up, but 70 percent of the time, they actually have something that's been troubling them and they are praying I will be able to magically tell them the answer to questions they haven't been bold enough to ask me," says Smith. "If you can't talk about these things with your doctor, who are you supposed to talk about them with?" If it's that much of a struggle to open up to your doctor, it's time to find a new one you feel 100 percent comfortable with.